mom and i sold houses together for over 22 years, until she retired in 2015. i have kept on selling houses. for sellers who are moving on, and to buyers who are moving in. real estate is such a part of our daily lives, that it carries over into everything we are. and it is of interest to so many people. so i thought i would start talking. who knows...i may actually find that i have something interesting to say :) www.tkmomteam.com

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Why Is There So Much Paperwork to Sign to Get a Mortgage?

We are often asked why there is so much paperwork mandated by the
bank for a mortgage loan application when buying a home today. It seems
that the bank needs to know everythingabout us and requires three separate sources to validate each and every entry on the application form.
Many
buyers are being told by friends and family that the process was a
hundred times easier when they bought their home ten to twenty years
ago.
There are two very good reasons that the loan process is much more onerous on today’s buyer than perhaps any time in history.

1.
The government has set new guidelines that now demand that the bank
prove beyond any doubt that you are indeed capable of affording the
mortgage.

During the run-up in the housing market, many
people ‘qualified’ for mortgages that they could never pay back. This
led to millions of families losing their home. The government wants to
make sure this can’t happen again.

2. The banks don’t want to be in the real estate business.

Over
the last seven years, banks were forced to take on the responsibility
of liquidating millions of foreclosures and also negotiating another
million plus short sales. Just like the government, they don’t want more
foreclosures. For that reason, they need to double (maybe even triple)
check everything on the application.

However, there is some good news in the situation.

The
housing crash that mandated that banks be extremely strict on paperwork
requirements also allows you to get a mortgage interest rate as low as
3.43%, the latest reported rate from Freddie Mac.
The
friends and family who bought homes ten or twenty ago experienced a
simpler mortgage application process but also paid a higher interest
rate (the average 30 year fixed rate mortgage was 8.12% in the 1990’s
and 6.29% in the 2000’s). If you went to the bank and offered to pay 7%
instead of less than 4%, they would probably bend over backwards to make
the process much easier.

Bottom Line

Instead
of concentrating on the additional paperwork required, let’s be
thankful that we are able to buy a home at historically low rates.

Monday, August 29, 2016

Don’t Get Caught in the Rental Trap!

There are many benefits to homeownership. One of the top ones is
being able to protect yourself from rising rents and lock in your
housing cost for the life of your mortgage.

Don’t Become Trapped

Jonathan Smoke, Chief Economist at realtor.com,reported on what he calls a “Rental Affordability Crisis.” He warns that,

“Low
rental vacancies and a lack of new rental construction are pushing up
rents, and we expect that they’ll outpace home price appreciation in the
year ahead.”

In the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University's 2015 Report on Rental Housing,
they reported that 49% of rental households are cost-burdened, meaning
they spend more than 30% of their income on housing. These households
struggle to save for a rainy day and pay other bills, such as food and
healthcare.

It’s Cheaper to Buy Than Rent

In Smoke’s article, he went on to say,

“Housing
is central to the health and well-being of our country and our local
communities. In addition, this (rental affordability) crisis threatens
the future value of owned housing, as the burdensome level of rents will
trap more aspiring owners into a vicious financial cycle in which they
cannot save and build a solid credit record to eventually buy a home.”“While
more than 85% of markets have burdensome rents today, it’s perplexing
that in more than 75% of the counties across the country, it is actually
cheaper to buy than rent a home. So why aren’t those unhappy renters
choosing to buy?”

Know Your Options

Perhaps you have already saved enough to buy your first home. HousingWirereported that analysts at Nomura believe:

"It’s
not that Millennials and other potential homebuyers aren’t qualified in
terms of their credit scores or in how much they have saved for their
down payment.It’s that they think they’re not qualified or they think that they don’t have a big enough down payment.” (emphasis added)

Many first-time homebuyers who believe that they need a large down payment may be holding themselves back from their dream home. As we have reported before,
in many areas of the country, a first-time home buyer can save for a 3%
down payment in less than two years. You may have already saved enough!

Bottom Line

Don’t
get caught in the trap so many renters are currently in. If you are
ready and willing to buy a home, find out if you are able. Let’s get
together to determine if you could qualify for a mortgage now!

2 Myths About Mortgages That May Be Holding Back Buyers

Myth #1: “I Need a 20% Down Payment”

Fannie Mae’s
survey revealed that consumers overestimate the down payment funds
needed to qualify for a home loan. According to the report, 76% of
Americans either don’t know (40%) or are misinformed (36%) about the
minimum down payment required.
Many believe that they need at
least 20% down to buy their dream home. New programs actually let buyers
put down as little as 3%.Below are the results of a Digital Risk survey of Millennials who recently purchased a home.
As you can see, 64.2% were able to purchase their home by putting down less than 20%, with 43.8% putting down less than 10%!

Myth #2: “I need a 780 FICO Score or Higher to Buy”

The
survey revealed that 59% of Americans either don’t know (54%) or are
misinformed (5%) about what FICO score is necessary to qualify.
Many Americans believe a ‘good’ credit score is 780 or higher.
To help debunk this myth, let’s take a look at the latest Ellie Mae Origination Insight Report,
which focuses on recently closed (approved) loans. As you can see
below, 54.1% of approved mortgages had a credit score of 600-749.

Bottom Line

Whether
buying your first home or moving up to your dream home, knowing your
options will definitely make the mortgage process easier. Your dream
home may already be within your reach.

Friday, August 19, 2016

Real Life vs. Reality TV: 5 Myths Explained

Have you ever been flipping through the channels, only to find yourself glued to the couch in an HGTV ‘show hole’*? We’ve all been there… watching entire seasons of “Love it or List it,” “Fixer Upper,” “House Hunters,” “Flip or Flop,” “Property Brothers,” and so many more, just in one sitting.
When
you’re in the middle of your real estate themed show marathon, you
might start to think that everything you see on TV must be how it works
in real life, but you may need a reality check.

Reality TV Show Myths vs. Real Life:

Myth #1: Buyers look at 3 homes and make a decision to purchase one of them.

Truth:
There may be buyers who fall in love and buy the first home they see,
but more often than not the process of buying a home means touring more
than three homes.

Myth #2: The houses the buyers are touring are still for sale.

Truth: The reality is being staged for TV. Many of the homes being shown are already sold and are off the market.

Myth #3: The buyers haven’t made a purchase decision yet.

Truth:
Since there is no way to show the entire buying process in a 30-minute
show, TV producers often choose buyers who are further along in the
process and have already chosen a home to buy.

Myth #4: If you list your home for sale, it will ALWAYS sell at the Open House.

Truth:
Of course this would be great! Open Houses are important to guarantee
the most exposure to buyers in your area, but are only a PIECE of the
overall marketing of your home. Just realize that many homes are sold
during regular showing appointments as well.

Myth #5: Homeowners make a decision about selling their home after a 5-minute conversation.

Truth:
Similar to the buyers portrayed on the shows, many of the sellers have
already spent hours deliberating the decision to list their home and
move on with their life/goals.

Bottom Line

Having
an experienced professional on your side while navigating the real
estate market is the best way to guarantee that you can make the home of
your dreams a reality!*Show Hole - A side effect
of binge-watching. Symptoms include a sense of emptiness and depression
brought on by realizing you just wasted a good portion of your life
watching several seasons of a TV show or an entire movie franchise all
at once when you could have managed your time better.

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Where Are Home Prices Headed Over the Next 5 Years?

Today, many real estate conversations center on housing prices and where they may be headed. That is why we like the Home Price Expectation Survey.
Every quarter, Pulsenomics surveys
a nationwide panel of over one hundred economists, real estate experts,
and investment & market strategists about where they believe prices
are headed over the next five years. They then average the projections
of all 100+ experts into a single number.

The results of their latest survey:

Home
values will appreciate by 4.5% over the course of 2016, 3.6% in 2017
and about 3.2% in the next two years, and finally 2.9% in 2020 (as shown
below). That means the average annual appreciation will be 3.5% over
the next 5 years.
The
prediction for cumulative appreciation increased slightly from 17.5% to
18.7% by 2020. The experts making up the most bearish quartile of the
survey are still projecting a cumulative appreciation of 11.1%.

Bottom Line

Individual opinions make headlines. We believe the survey is a fairer depiction of future values.

Monday, August 8, 2016

Looking for some inspiration? Look no further than inside this fabulously updated Green Oaks colonial. Tucked on a wooded cul-de-sac lot abutting the nature preserve, this beautiful home has been lovingly updated and remodeled throughout. Gleaming hardwood floors, gourmet kitchen, luxury bathrooms, expanded laundry, finished basement. So great, it sold quickly!

No matter what shape or size your living space is, the concept and
feeling of home can mean different things to different people. Whether
it’s a certain scent or a favorite chair, the emotional reasons why we
choose to buy our own home are, more often than not, the more powerful
or compelling ones.
Every year, The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University conducts a survey to find driving factors behind why Americans decide to buy a home.
The top 4 reasons to own a home cited by participants of the survey were not financial.

1. It means having a good place to raise children & provide them with a good education

From
the best neighborhoods to the best school districts, even those without
children at the time of purchase may have this in the back of their
mind as a major reason for choosing the location of the home that they
purchase.

2. You have a physical structure where you & your family feel safe

It is no surprise that having a place to call home with the means for comfort and security is the number two reason.

3. It allows you to have more space for your family

Whether
your family is expanding, or an older family member is moving in,
having a home that fits your needs is a close third on the list.

4. It gives you control over what you do with your living space, like renovations and updates

Looking
to actually try one of those complicated wall treatments that you saw
on Pinterest? Tired of paying an additional pet deposit for your
apartment building, or do you want to finally adopt that puppy or kitten
you’ve seen online 100 times? Who’s to say that you can’t in your own
home?
The 5th reason on the list, is the #1 financial reason to buy a home as seen by respondents:

5. Owning a home is a good way to build up wealth that can be passed along to my family

Either
way you are paying a mortgage. Why not lock in your housing expense now
with an investment that will build equity that you can borrow against
in the future?

Bottom Line

Whether you
are a first time homebuyer or a move-up buyer who wants to start a new
chapter in your life, now is a great time to reflect on the intangible
factors that make a house a home.

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About Me

i am a mom. and a wife. and a realtor. when i grow up i want to spend all day taking pictures and then spend all night looking at them. in the meantime, i am going to keep selling houses. for sellers who are moving on, and to buyers who are moving in. real estate is such a part of our daily lives, that it carries over into everything we are. and it is of interest to so many people. so i thought i would start talking. who knows...i may actually find that i have something interesting to say :)